Best Photo Editing Apps

Top 10 Best Photo Editing Apps for IPhone and Android

Looking for the best photo editing apps to enhance photos on the go? Nowadays Android and iOS platforms provide a lot of applications for photo editing, color correction, and basic face/body adjustments.

If you take many photos using your smartphone, you need a powerful photo editor app to post good-looking photos in Instagram or Facebook. Let’s find out what app you should download on your phone.

1. Fotor

Best iPhone photo editing app

As one of the best apps for photo editing, Fotor provides basic image editing and color correction tools. It features the majority of basic effects and filters that could be useful for photography enthusiasts. Very simple and nice interface will help you get a hang of all the capabilities of the program. What I really enjoy is the ability to work with RAW images, because not every application offers this feature. The "Fotor HDR" function significantly helps in image enhancement.

The best photo editor app provides dozens of effects, high-quality ones which remind me of Lightroom presets. It is much easier to apply them than in other similar apps. If you wish to have more effects, you can always visit the effects database and download a hundred new ones for free or buy them for $1-2.

Social network Fotor gives an opportunity to share your images with users, participate in contests with a cash prize or be inspired by the ideas of other users.

A significant part of the app is devoted to the collage feature and the diversity of their application is really satisfactory – the proportions of 1:1, 4:3 and 3:4 are much sought after. I like that Fotor didn't just stop on mobile devices, the application was also released as a software for macOS, Windows and browsers. Therefore, you can use Fotor on any device convenient for you. Read the full review of Fotor to learn everything about this photo editor app free.

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2. Snapseed

Body photo editor app

It is one of the best free photo editing apps of professional level from Google. It contains a great number of editing options to enhance even the most ordinary photos. It allows you to take full control of your photos, including a variety of tools for changing the vignette, blur, temperature and other elements.

A very useful feature of the app is the capability to overlay effects on top of each other for the creation of completely new ones. Snapseed supports many advanced features, such as double exposure, curves control, support of DNG.

Working with the tools is surprisingly easy, as you drag them up and down and then choose the strength of the effect by flipping left and right. Create a completely new custom effect just by saving all your settings.

As the best offline photo editor app, it supports the RAW format. White balance is easy to work with, similar to Lightroom. You'll be pleased with the Selective Color tool which allows adjusting a certain color in only one area with ease.

• View more several legal ways to best free photo editing apps.

Many users call the program a clone of VSCO, because in terms of performance they are very similar (like all editors), but the advantage of Snapseed over VSCO is that it determines on its own the genre of the picture (portrait, landscape, etc.) and points to the user the possible tools for work.

3. Adobe Lightroom CC Mobile

Good app to edit photos on the go

Adobe Lightroom is a classic program for working with RAW files, color correction and professional photo editing. Fortunately, you don't need to have continuous access to a computer or laptop to edit images in Lightroom, because due to the release of a simplified version – Lightroom CC, developers were able to adapt it for mobile devices.

• View other legal ways of how to get Lightroom free.

Lightroom CC is one of the best photo editing apps Android and iOS. It is a full-featured photo manager and editor completed with support for RAW images, Lightroom mobile presets, exposure settings, watermarks, etc.

The best part consists in the fact that this program is totally free, you only need to register Adobe ID. Of course, if you wish to sync photos across various devices and use special features, you'll have to pay for it by signing up for an Adobe Creative Cloud plan, which costs $10 a month and gives access to Photoshop and Lightroom Classic.

It is not only the best photo editing app for PC, but a simple yet effective variant for photo retouching. Both beginners and advanced users can process images in the app.

A very useful feature is the Camera, as it gives an ability to change the focus point, ISO settings and shutter speed. I use it for product photography on my iPhone.

4. Photoshop Express

Best photo editing app for professional photographers

As soon as you hear the phrase "photo editing", the first association you have is surely Photoshop. As the market for mobile applications is flourishing, Adobe has developed an analogue of Photoshop for mobile devices – Photoshop Express.

It isn't as powerful as its desktop copy but still allows to perform the main steps of basic image post production.

• See other legal ways of downloading Photoshop free.

The program provides a user-friendly interface and does not require any special skills, that's why it is one of the best photo editing apps for the beginners in the spheres of photography and graphic design. The platform is free, which is especially important for individuals, students, amateur specialists, employees of start-ups and small companies.

Either way, the word "Photoshop" in the name of the program gives hope for high-quality tools, but so far a full image editor that can completely replace the desktop version on mobile devices hasn't been developed. The app is available for iOS, Android and Windows Microsoft Store.

5. VSCO

Best iOS photo editing app

It is considered to be one of the best free photo editing apps for a smartphone. The main advantage of VSCO Camera is not only the built-in filters (there are more than fifty of them) but also the capability to work out all the details of the picture correction.

For example, you can change the exposure, contrast, add sharpness, transparency, or color saturation, remove or add shadows, temperature, adjust the skin tone or grain of the image. You can get a hang of all the functions in a couple of days or use ready-made templates of automatic color correction.

Very often VSCO is compared to Instagram on the ground of that it also combines online community, camera and photo editing. The biggest advantage of one of the best photo editing apps iPhone and Android is its filters, which emulate a wide range of classic films.

They're also available for desktop computers, but you get a free set in the mobile app, and any of them can be applied to a photo with a single click. The main drawback is that the application takes up a lot of memory and saves both the original and the processed images.

Also, all the "cool" filters developers have left for downloading in paid mode, but in the "Shop" section (opens in the left line after you start editing photos) once a month some templates become available for download to any user without any additional payment.

If you work in Lightroom but want to get this film effect without registration and paying for VSCO app, you can download VSCO Lightroom presets and apply this effect any time you want.

6. Lens Distortions

Photo enhancement app for adding lens distorthions

Lens Distortions is known for its impressive plug-ins and desktop applications and has developed a mobile app for Android and iOS which provides its set for image editing on mobile devices.

Whether it's a color filter you are looking for or an overlay effect such as a light leak or flash, Lens Distortions offers a variety of realistic effects which you may add to your photos. There are several sections with the sets of effects, only 5 of them are available from each section. If you want to get access to all 250 premium effects, you will have to pay a dollar a month.

• View more photo editing apps for Android.

It is one of the best apps for photographers, as it can control weather effects due to the qualitative overlays for photos which include sunlight, rain, flash, fog and snow. There are also glass elements and glitter effects for adding shine or blur to an image.

You may also combine several effects for a singular look. The app is a godsend for all fans of shooting landscapes and urban environment. You can't apply a filter and make a color correction in the app, but you may add such elements to a picture in just a couple of clicks.

7. Enlight Photofox

Professional photo editing app

Enlight has available a set of different free applications to work with, among which the only one is paid, Enlight itself. In fact, every program deserves separate consideration, but I enjoyed Enlight Photofox most of all.

After the first inspection, you understand that it is really the best free photo editing app with a wide range of various functions. Of course, when you open it for the first time, the number of menu items and sub-items may confuse you.

Pop-up tips on the entire display when you start using any of the functions really turn off. But you only need to try to edit a couple of pictures and the app will show you what it is capable of.

I would like to mention a convenient and simple function, which, for some reason, is not even present in the most well-known services – the capability to undo one last modification and also redo it. You may also increase a photo to the level of pixels.

Sometimes it is useful to look at the details of the edited picture. With one of the best photo editing iPhone apps, you may begin to edit several photos at the same time and save them as unfinished sessions. If you don't save them, up to 10 items will still be kept open.

If you are happy with your result – it is convenient to share a photo directly from the app in social media, messengers, e-mail, and, of course, Instagram!

Aside from the full set of tools for photo post processing, which is available in the free version, the new app now offers the ability to work with layers.

Layers allow you to combine multiple images in one photo, create an original collage, apply different photo overlay effects and so on. You may edit the layers individually, erase objects from the background, modify the transparency of any of the layers, transform their shape, size and perspective.

8. Moldiv

Photo editing app for makgin collages

Moldiv is one of the best free photo editing apps for creating collages from images. When you open the app, you will see the main screen with a huge selection of collage templates. The areas in a future image can be separated for 2, 4, 5 or 6 photos. After several swipes, you will be able to look through the entire selection of templates and pick the most suitable one.

As one of the best Android and iPhone photography apps, it allows you to process multiple photos on one canvas, apply images in layers and professionally modify the resulting photos, apply effects and decorative elements.

The app uses an innovative system of creating collages, according to which users can choose a frame and photos, and the system will select the position, size and color of the border, depending on the overall tone, size and saturation of the added images!

The app features the function of creating thematic collages, color correction and filters, change of signatures and stickers, export and import photos to social media.

What I really like about this image editor is that you can modify the internal boundaries of the collage. One of my favorite tools is "Scissors".

With its help, you can create a collage with clippings. It is very convenient when you wish to insert not an entire photo into a collage but some specific element. "Scissors" allow you to cut out a fragment from any image and insert it into your collage.

9. Picsart

Classic photo enhancement app for social media platforms

It is a well-known photo editor app for mobile. This editor from California developers scored a really crazy number of downloads – more than 100 million. I was surprised by this number, but after downloading it, I was able to figure out what's what.

The program gives you a lot of opportunities to work with photography, but most of the functions are unnecessary. Of course, if you are a pro and know how to process photos at a high level, the app will give you a variety of tools to work with, but, on the other hand, the professionals don't work on smartphones.

The greater part of users is interested in PicsArt's filters, signatures and stickers. The app offers a wide array of them, they are applied very quickly and you may work with them even without any special skills in photo post production.

• Check out more photo editing apps for Mac.

Some styles look really attractive and they are free. In addition to it, the flexible adjustment of images is also available and it is given for free.

It is one of the best photo editing apps for Android, iPhone and the users who are tired of Instagram styles, as a lot of new discoveries that you haven't seen are presented.

However, it is necessary to recognize that most of the features of the program are still hidden since they are paid.

As for the process of taking photos, the program even has its own camera app, which allows you to see the result of the effects from the library in real time, as well as to adjust the settings of an image before shooting.

10. Bonfire

For those who like creative photo effects and filters

Bonfire Photo Editor offers every tool a good photo editor should have. But the biggest advantage of the app is the presence of a large number of filters. It is one of the best photo editing apps for Android due to its stunning effects that can be applied in image post processing. The user gets 110 unique filters and effects that can improve even the failed shot.

The app's thoughtful interface allows you to quickly adjust and apply the desired filter. Apart from the basic feature set, Bonfire photo editor pro has an array of very interesting effects, for example, the Fancy filter that imitates watercolor painting.

Automatic photo editing allows you to obtain a high-quality picture instantly, even if the original file had flaws. You may use the preview function, compare the original and edited photo, then post it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp.

If you want more than color correction and basic photo adjustments, but don’t have time and money for monthly Adobe subscription, view the following list of the best free photo editors for photographers and creative people to edit their photos free.